South Carolina Culture & Language

The Gullah Geechee culture of the Sea Islands is the state's most distinctive: a creole language, a craft tradition of coiled sweetgrass baskets brought directly from West Africa, and a foodway that shaped Southern cooking generally. It survived because the islands were isolated, and it is now threatened because they are not.

Charleston has a particular formality — old families, old houses, and a social code that visitors notice. It also has a serious restaurant scene and a major international arts festival each spring.

The state divides into Lowcountry, Midlands and Upstate, and residents identify strongly with which one they are from. So does the barbecue: the mustard belt runs through the middle of the state and the vinegar-and-pepper coast lies below it.

Sweet tea, church and college football are genuine organising features of social life.

English is universal, and Spanish is the main second language.

Gullah is a genuine creole language spoken on the Sea Islands, with English vocabulary over West and Central African grammar. It is a language, not an accent, and it is actively being preserved.

Local usage worth knowing: the coastal region is the Lowcountry, the northeast beach strip is the Grand Strand, and the northwest is the Upstate. Tea means sweet tea unless you say otherwise, and y'all is simply the plural "you".